ABSTRACT
The period to be taken into consideration began on 7 March 1986 when the proceedings were instituted against the INPS in the magistrates’ court. It had not yet ended as Mrs Biondi’s appeal was still pending in the appellate court. The reasonableness of the length of proceedings had to be assessed with reference to the criteria laid down in the Court’s case-law and in the light of the circumstances of the case. Special diligence was necessary in employment disputes, which included pensions disputes. A 6(1) imposed on Contracting States the duty to organise their legal systems in such a way that their courts could meet each of its requirements. This case did not give rise to any complex question of fact or law. The proceedings were conducted at a normal pace in the magistrates’ court and the State could not be held responsible for the four months which elapsed between the decision of 3 October 1986 and the date on which the applicant appealed to the Rome District Court. On the other hand, the appeal proceedings remained dormant for more than two years. On 5 February 1987 the President of the Rome District Court set down the first hearing before the competent chamber for 21 February 1989. Furthermore, two years and eight months went by before the District Court gave judgment, on 10 October 1991. In view of what was at stake in the proceedings for Mrs Biondi, a lapse of time already amounting to nearly six years could not be regarded as reasonable. There had therefore been a violation of A 6(1).
